Sensex Down 450 Points, Nifty At 23,750; Auto, PSB Stocks Drag

Benchmark Indian equity indices were trading lower on Wednesday, amid weak global cues.

At 11 AM, the BSE Sensex was down 363.69 points, or 0.46 per cent, at 78,311.49, while the Nifty 50 was at 23,745, down 138 points, or 0.58 per cent.

Among the 30 constituent stocks in the BSE Sensex, 16 stocks were trading in the red. Losses were led by Mahindra & Mahindra (down 2.48 per cent), followed by Maruti Suzuki India, Tata Steel, Nestle India, and Sun Pharma, while gains were led by NTPC (up 1.21 per cent), followed by Asian Paints, Tata Motors, Bharti Airtel, and IndusInd Bank.

On the Nifty 50, 31 out of the 50 stocks were trading lower. Gains were led by NTPC (1.28 per cent), Asian Paint, Tata Motors, Bharti Airtel, and IndusInd Bank, while losses were capped by Mahindra & Mahindra (down 2.30 per cent), followed by Maruti Suzuki India, Shriram Finance, HeroMotoCo, and HDFC Life.

Across sectors, the Healthcare, Pharma, and Auto indices were the top laggards, falling between 0.75 and 0.85 per cent, while the Bank, Financial Services, and IT indices were the only gainers.

In the broader markets, meanwhile, Nifty Midcap 100 was down 0.38 per cent and the Nifty Smallcap 100 was down 0.66 per cent.

Global Cues

Meanwhile, markets in the Asia-Pacific region were lower on Wednesday, tracking losses on Wall Street as Asian traders assessed wholesale inflation data that reached its highest level since July last year at 3.4 per cent, higher than the 3 per cent growth expected by economists polled by Reuters, and the 2.8 per cent rise in September.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 was trading down 1.12 per cent, while the Topix declined 1.01 per cent.

South Korea’s Kospi fell 1.28 per cent, while the Kosdaq Index was down 1.72 per cent.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was down 1.09 per cent.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was down 0.76 per cent, while mainland China’s CSI 300 was down 0.09 per cent. However, the Shanghai Composite was ahead by 0.15 per cent.

That apart, Wall Street’s three major indices closed lower on Tuesday as investors booked some profits from a post-election rally and waited anxiously for US inflation data due this week.

The indices had rallied to record highs since the November 5 US election. But investor enthusiasm dampened on Tuesday with concerns around whether the next US administration’s policies would exacerbate inflation.

European shares lost 2 per cent as European Central Bank policymakers warned that increased tariffs from Trump would hamper global growth.